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Snakes and Spiders<br />
and Lizards, Oh My!<br />
By Pam Townsend, Media Coordinator<br />
<strong>The</strong> vast majority of people who pass through the<br />
doors of the Humane Rescue <strong>Alliance</strong> (HRA) in search<br />
of an animal companion head straight for the available<br />
dogs or cats or perhaps even the rabbits. But some are<br />
looking for something a bit different.<br />
Every year, in fact, HRA finds homes for several dozen<br />
exotic animals—think snakes, spiders, and lizards—with<br />
the number topping 200 in 2016.<br />
Take Charizard for example. This 3-year-old female<br />
iguana was adopted last year by Parrie Henderson-<br />
O’Keefe and her son. <strong>The</strong> animal-loving twosome were<br />
no strangers to unusual pets, having had a Russian<br />
tortoise, a fat-tailed gecko, and an assortment of toads,<br />
hamsters, and Anole lizards over the years, along with<br />
a dog and a couple of cats.<br />
“My son loves reptiles and wants to study herpetology<br />
in college,” says Henderson-O’Keefe. “We were quite<br />
intrigued by Charizard, and since my son seemed to<br />
have a connection with her, we decided to adopt her.”<br />
Today, the large lizard spends her days eating, sleeping,<br />
and lounging on a cat tree in the sunshine that pours<br />
through the skylight in Henderson-O’Keefe’s top<br />
floor art studio. A heating pad and heat lamp provide<br />
additional warmth when needed. Every few weeks,<br />
she’ll go on a walkabout, wandering around the studio<br />
or even heading downstairs to explore other rooms.<br />
On the other end of the size spectrum is Ducky, a<br />
1.5-year-old leopard gecko, who found his way to HRA<br />
following an eviction. Fortunately, it didn’t take long<br />
for this little lizard to find a new home with Delaware<br />
8 ALLIANCE
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